Something from Japan that I didn't think would happen here would be the [in]famous maid/cosplay cafe... I remember that there was a maid cafe in Toronto at one time, however that one doesn't exist anymore. So I assumed no one would dare to try it out again in Canada. How wrong I was.

Currently having their Grand Opening Special; Magnetic Cafe opened in the beginning of July.

From the date of the card on the flowers outside, Magnetic Cafe opened July 1st, but I've only managed to learned about this cafe two weeks ago through a Vancouver Sun news link from RadiantDreamer. I learned from the article that this cafe is modeled after the ones in Taiwan rather than the one in Japan, so you won't get the "okaeri nasai goshuujin-sama" treatment here. Which means it would be just the waitresses in cute costumes serving you. I suppose that's close enough.

This photo is from the Vancouver Sun article. There are a couple more photos of the waitresses on their website (also available in Chinese).

The waitress didn't mind me taking photos of the establishment, but won't let me take a photo of her. I respect that, since the ones in Japan won't let you do that either. It's hard to describe the outfit of the week when I came though. It's like a party gown with shorter skirt. It was somewhat like Ranka's dress up there, but only one colour and they wore sandals instead of boots.

A friend (who found out about this place a week after I did through Anime News Network) and I came in just before 7 PM and it was not busy at all. The Vancouver Sun article mentioned that it usually gets busier after 9 PM. The interior has a futuristic vibe to it. It's almost all white and had a sterile look, very Apple-y. It also reminds me of that blood donation centre that Danny posted about. Except they won't take your blood... Hopefully. ^^; When I walked in it was definitely not the maid cafe I was expecting. The atmosphere is geared toward the general public rather than the Akiba-going kind of crowd.

We had the window seats and everyone else that was in the cafe was also seated by the windows. So I was free to take photos of the middle tables with no people in it. The table was a bit high compared to the chairs though, so it almost felt like I was a kid again, haha. But no, it wasn't that high.

The bright, almost-neon-like, menu was quite cute, but the inside was quite plain. The menu lists pages and pages of items. They have great variety, which is good, but it lacks pictures and descriptions. I didn't see ALL the prices, but most of the items look quite affordable. One thing I noticed was the chocolate fondue on the last page for $9. I'll order that next time...

The large selection of drinks made it hard for me to decide so I asked the waitress for a recommendation. This one is the grapefruit green tea. Luckily for her I liked it :P

The takoyaki tasted good, but I felt disappointed that I only get six of them for $5. The takoyaki place I go to, which had a change of ownership, tasted a little better and cost a dollar less.

The main entree is Japanese curry pork chop omelette rice. I'm quite impressed with this dish. It tastes great! The curry was sweet, as I would expect of Japanese curry. The rice looked reddish, so it must've been fried. Perhaps along with the egg. Although the egg was very thin it still tasted great, especially with the curry. The pork was a typical fried pork chop, but no complains there either. My friend ordered pan fried pork chop with black pepper sauce on rice. I forgot to take a picture of that, but he said it was good as well. I wouldn't mind coming back to try out the other variety of dishes.

View from our table

Judging from the group of six guys that came after us, it seemed pretty obvious who the cafe is targeting. I'm not one to stare, so perhaps I won't come for that kind of eye candy, but I would be curious what kind of costumes they would have. The owner in the Vancouver Sun article promised other costumes in the work; nurse outfit, policewoman, race queens... I'm waiting for frog outfit and battle waitresses costumes to be added in the mix, ala Haruhi.

Other specials to try for the next visit?

All in all, it wasn't too bad, but it wasn't too great either. The food was great, the waitresses were nice and the price wasn't too bad. The atmosphere was lacking for what I was expecting, but can't exactly have it authentic here in Vancouver. I guess I'll try it out in Japan when I do go there.

Magnetic Cafe is located on the 2nd floor in Cosmo Plaza in Richmond at 8788 McKim Way. They open daily from 11:30 am to 2 am; very late! Do bring money since they only accept cash. Oh and they also have free Wi-Fi for your fancy smancy iPhones and other smartphones. My friend took advantage of it and it worked well.